Among basketball's best

Published 4:21 pm, Thursday, June 23, 2011

With Kansas having won 11 regular-season championships in the 15 years of the Big 12, it's only natural that the Jayhawks also dominate the list of the best players in the history of the league. Staff writer Mike Finger takes a look at the elite dozen players who helped turn the Big 12 into one of the nation's top basketball conferences:

Tony Allen, Oklahoma State: The 2003-04 Big 12 player of the year, Allen helped lead the Cowboys to the Final Four and was perhaps the best perimeter defender in the history of the conference.

Michael Beasley, Kansas State: In 2007-08, Beasley was named Big 12 player of the year, national freshman of the year, earned consensus first-team All-America honors and posted the best scoring average (26.2 points per game) in Big 12 history.

Nick Collison, Kansas: A two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection, Collison was a consensus first-team All-American and the league player of the year in 2002-03. He also played on two consecutive Final Four teams.

Kevin Durant, Texas: The first freshman to win the Wooden Award as the nation's top player, Durant had no shortage of achievements in 2006-07. He also was a consensus first-team All-American, the Big 12 player of the year, and averaged a record 28.9 points in league play.

Andre Emmett, Texas Tech: The Big 12's career scoring leader until his mark was broken by Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn last spring, Emmett earned first-team all-conference honors in each of his final three seasons. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 2003-04.

Marcus Fizer, Iowa State: The 1999-2000 Big 12 player of the year, Fizer was a consensus first-team All-America selection that season, during which he led the Cyclones to a Big 12 championship and the Elite Eight.

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T.J. Ford, Texas: Generally regarded as the pied piper who began Rick Barnes' recruiting success at UT, Ford won the Wooden and Naismith awards as national player of the year in 2002-03. He led the Longhorns to their first Final Four in more than 50 years.

Drew Gooden, Kansas: The 2001-02 Big 12 player of the year, Gooden had the second-best rebounding year in league history. He was a consensus first-team All-American and helped lift the Jayhawks to the Final Four.

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma: The only Big 12 player to grab more rebounds in a season than Gooden's 423, Griffin shattered that mark with 504 as he earned the Wooden and Naismith awards as national player of the year in 2008-09. He also owns the league's best single-season field-goal percentage (.654).

Acie Law, Texas A&M: Teaming with coach Billy Gillispie to rescue Aggies basketball from the Big 12 cellar to national prominence, Law was a consensus first-team All-American in 2007, when A&M reached the Sweet 16.

Raef LaFrentz, Kansas: He won the Big 12 player of the year award in each of the league's first two seasons in 1996-97 and 1997-98, and no one has been a repeat winner since. LaFrentz also was the league's only two-time consensus first-team All-American.

Paul Pierce, Kansas: Playing alongside LaFrentz in the late 1990s, Pierce gave the Jayhawks one of the best sidekicks a college basketball team could want. He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1997-98 and was named most valuable player of the Big 12 tournament in each of his last two seasons.